Courtney Clarke: Who Am I Without Football? | Arsenal, England & Finding Her Way Back

What happens when the thing you’ve built your whole life around is suddenly taken away?

Courtney Clarke grew up in Peterborough with one dream: football. That dream took her to Arsenal’s academy and on to representing England at youth level, before a serious ACL injury changed the direction of her career and left her facing a much bigger question: who am I without football?

In this episode of You Can Do Hard Things with Jenny Melling, Courtney talks about growing up in the Arsenal system, pulling on an England shirt, the reality of suffering a major injury as a young footballer, and the mental battle that comes when you can no longer do the thing that has always defined you.

We talk about the difficult road back, further setbacks, rebuilding confidence, and eventually returning to where it all started, with Courtney now playing for her hometown club, Peterborough United Women.

Courtney also opens up about the person behind the footballer: the pressure she puts on herself, how injury changed her relationship with the game, and what she has learned about her identity away from the pitch.

It’s a conversation about football, but also about resilience, identity, serious injury and what happens when the future you had planned suddenly disappears.

If you’ve ever wondered how athletes cope mentally with long-term injury, how you rebuild confidence after an ACL injury, or how you find yourself again when you can’t do the thing you love, Courtney’s story is one you’ll want to hear.

🎙️ You Can Do Hard Things with Jenny Melling